Three years after he created Interscope imprint Amusement Records specifically to sign Chappell Roan, Billboard can exclusively announce Thursday (May 28) that producer Dan Nigro has added a second artist to his roster: Devon Again, an alt-pop tastemaker currently gearing up to open for Olivia Rodrigo on tour.
The new signing comes ahead of the Colorado-raised singer-songwriter’s country-tinged major label debut single, “Snake the Drain,” which arrives June 2 in the lead-up to Devon’s very first full-length album. “I found myself in a place where I felt like if I wanted to keep making music, I would have to shift my process to make it feel fun and silly again,” she says of the track in a statement. “This song felt like giving myself permission to explore a more headstrong, confident and playful side of myself.”
Devon’s most recent project, a vibrant five-track EP titled In Order, dropped in November last year via Pizzaslime, the clothing brand-turned-label founded by Nick Santiago and Matt Hwang in partnership with Diplo‘s label Mad Decent for distribution. Spawning standout streaming successes such as the loved-up “Cherry Cola” and emotional heavyweight “Never Goes Away,” the project was “really heavy and emotionally difficult” to make, Devon says, whereas “Snake the Drain” was “the song that helped [her] play in the mud again.”
“Devon embodies everything that I look for when signing an artist,” Nigro tells Billboard in a statement. “A clearly defined vision with the ability to weave between beautifully crafted songs that pull on your heartstrings and then writing playfully bold pop with ease … without compromising any of her spirit.”
Known for his work with Rodrigo and Conan Gray, Nigro formed Amusement Records in 2023 to give longtime collaborator Roan some backing after Atlantic Records dropped her from her first label deal in 2020. He produced her critically acclaimed debut The Rise & Fall of a Midwest Princess, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. With Rodrigo, he’s scored four Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits — most recently April’s “Drop Dead” — and two Billboard 200-topping albums, Sour and Guts, which will soon be followed by the singer’s Nigro-produced third LP, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.
“It’s about finding the person I want to invest 300 days of my time with,” he previously told Billboard of whether he’d sign more artists after Roan, three years before Devon would join Amusement. “It’s not simply finding an artist that I like and thinking that they’re great. It’s about, ‘Do we feel a connection that we can spend so much time making something and then promote it and find the right creative teams and annoy you about content?’ It’s everything.”
Now based in Los Angeles, Devon is hard at work on her debut album, which she describes as being full of “boy music.” In November, she’ll accompany Rodrigo on the Unraveled Tour, opening for arena dates across North America through February of next year.
Prior to In Order, Devon self-released her first single, “Suburbia,” in 2021. Songs such as “Burn Down,” “All My Fault,” “Shitty People” and “Head” followed, culminating in her 2022 EP Pee.
“Devon is an incredible artist, songwriter and performer,” Matt Morris, executive vp of A&R at Interscope Records, tells Billboard in a statement. “[She] imbues her distinct perspective into everything she does. We’ve been fans of her for quite some time and are honored to partner with her alongside our friend Daniel Nigro and Amusement Records.”
